Take a Right at the Curve
by glitchesandwitches
Summary: Olivia Bensen didn't believe in the supernatural. She didn't believe wishes could come true. But when her biggest wish is realized, everything changes for the worst. Talk about a predicament.
1. Fortune Tellers

_Chapter 1: Fortune Tellers_

* * *

 _"Why do bad things happen to good people?"_

That was the central question of of Olivia Bensen's life. That was the question that drove her, that caused her to get out of bed in the morning. That was the question that made her damn good at her job.

For as long as she could remember, she had a front row seat to the worst of humanity. Rape, addiction, murder, you name it, she's seen it. But not once, did she let this discourage her. No, quite the opposite. Every morning she would go into work, and look these things dead in the eye. And every day, she was unafraid. Unwilling to yield. All the more determined to come in the next day, and do it all over again.

But it got harder every day. Even her partner of thirteen years, the great Elliot Stabler, couldn't take it anymore. It had been almost a year since he threw in the towel. She almost envied him. But, she didn't have the luxury to be able to quit. She kept going. She had to.

 **Olivia Bensen's Positive Traits**  
She is brave.  
She is smart.  
She takes everything to heart

She was the kind of person every mother dreamed their child would become. Granted, Olivia didn't have the best childhood. That's the thing about being an alcoholic, it had a tendency to ruin bonding moments between mother and child.

 **Olivia Bensen's Negative Traits**  
She is stubborn.  
She overthinks everything.  
She takes everything to heart.

Olivia's greatest strength was her greatest weakness. She had the gift to connect with everyone on an emotional level. Their triumphs are her triumphs. Their pain is her pain. And she saw people in pain every day. And she did everything to do to ease people's pain. She supported the victims of her case through thick and thin. But despite everything, it never seemed to be enough.

Maybe it was just a cycle she was doomed to repeat. She grew up around it, after all. She watched her mother live with that pain every day of her childhood. It takes a real toll on a kid watch someone suffer like that.

Not that it mattered now.

It was a cold, windy day in New York City, and Olivia had taken a lunch break. There was this new shop set up near the precinct, that specialized in tamales. The woman who ran it was the sweet, grandma type. She was the kind of person who remembered all of her customers name. She was also the kind of person that could temporarily make you forget the world sucks.

She made her way down to the shop, taking in her surroundings, when she noticed something new. A brightly colored purple tent, that seemed to clash with the buildings around it.

In fancy, gold letters, the word _FORTUNE_ was sewn into the side. Olivia let out a little laugh.

 **A Fact about Olivia Bensen**  
She did not believe in the supernatural.

But despite her skepticism, Olivia found herself walking into the tent. She was drawn to it, by some mysterious force she did not believe in.

The lighting in the tent was dim, and her eyes had to adjust to the darkness. There was just enough light to make out a woman sitting in the back, behind a small desk.

Olivia noted that, despite being a psychic, she was dressed relatively normally. No flashy outfit, no headscarfs. She wore a simple blue sweater, with blond hair that lay slightly past her shoulders.

She also seemed preoccupied. That was good, Olivia thought. She could slip out just as easily as she slipped in.

"Welcome," the Fortune Teller said. Her voice was smooth and honey-like. There was a familiar timbre to it, and Olivia couldn't help but wonder: had she heard this voice before?

 **The Answer to the Question**  
She had.

"What can I help you with?" she continued. Her back was still turned to Olivia.

The detective remained silent. She honestly didn't know why she was in the tent. She was simply curious, that's all. Its not like it would be that hard to leave, anyway. She could simply explain that she didn't believe in psychics, and be on her merry way.

But that seemed rude.

"I…" she tried to find an answer. Something that would get her in and out very quickly.

"You don't know," The woman continued, "I have lots of services. I could tell you about your love life, or perhaps you're looking for a medium of some kind?"

Olivia had no interest in her love life, that was a fact. And she wasn't about to pay some crackpot to talk to her dead mother.

So again, she remained silent.

"Hmmm...maybe you'd be interested in a wish?"

Now that was an interesting offer. A ridicules one, but interesting none the less.

Who knows, it might even be entertaining?

"Sure, Olivia said.

"Wonderful," the woman stated, "Come on in, sit down. You'll need to follow my instructions perfectly."

Olivia walked in, and sat in a slightly smaller chair in front of the desk. It felt cramped. She looked at the back of the psychics head, she still wasn't turning around.

"First, I'll need you to close your eyes."

Olivia took a deep breath, and did so. She heard shuffling. Perhaps this woman had finally turned around.

"Secondly, hold your hands together, and weave your fingers between each other. Almost like you would for a prayer."

Olivia did so. She felt the woman grip on to her hands. Her skin was soft. Olivia was tempted to open her eyes, and peek at what this woman looked like.

"Now, a wish is a powerful thing. Make sure you wish for something good."

Olivia nodded.

"If you could wish for one thing, what would it be?"

"I wish…"

"Don't say it out loud. That ruins the power."

"Sorry."

Olivia was honestly thinking out loud. She had no idea what she would wish for. What would be a good thing to wish for. A bonus? A dog? A vacation?

Or the obvious. The thing that she wished for since she was a kid. The wish that her mother had never been raped.

That would be a good one to go with, she figure. It wasn't like this would do anything about that.

"What would you be willing to give up, in order for your wish to come true?" The psychic asked. And the answer was simple.

"Everything."

She heard a small laugh from the psychic.

"Is that so?"

The detective nodded.

"So let it be, Olivia."

Olivia felt a chill run through her body. She had never told the psychic her name.

Despite the fact that her eyes were closed, the room seemed to get a bit brighter. On top of that, her chair suddenly felt slightly less small.

She opened her eyes. She was no longer in the fortune teller's tent. She was now at a dinner table.

"What?"

She looked around. She didn't recognize any of these surroundings. She noticed two other people at the dinner table. Two men, one older, and one younger. They were obviously related.

"It's so nice to have the family back together," The older one stated, "It's been far too long."

Olivia couldn't help but notice that the man looked at her as he spoke. He was talking to her. That sentence was directed at her.

"What?" She said again. The older gentleman simply laughed.

"I'm just teasing, darling," The man said. Olivia could hear footsteps approaching. Elegant, sounding. Definitely belonging to a woman.

Olivia looked, and saw the last person she expected to see enter the room. Serena Bensen, her mother. But this Serena seemed different than the mother she knew. She was not aged by addiction. She was happy.

It was in that moment that Olivia realized she had been wrong. The supernatural existed.

Her wish had come true.

* * *

 _This is a rewrite of a story I tried to write five years ago. I wanted to try and tackle it again, so stay tuned. Thanks so much for reading this far. Next chapter coming at you next week!_


	2. Family Dinners

_Chapter 2: Family Dinners_

* * *

"Mom," The word rolled out of Olivia's lips, barely even a whisper. Her mother simply laughed. She walked up to Olivia, and ruffled her hair. A chill went up Olivia's spine. That was a feeling she hadn't felt in...a very long time.

"Olivia, are you okay?" There was a tenderness to her mother's voice. It felt both foreign and familiar to Olivia's ears. It was overwhelming, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

That wasn't entirely wrong. The Serena Benson Olivia knew died over a decade ago. She had been the one to identify the body at the morgue. She would look at the body once more, at the open casket funeral. This wasn't right.

Yet here was Serena Benson, very much alive. Holding a roasted turkey.  
 **  
**Was she hallucinating? Or, perhaps she was drugged. Maybe the fortune teller drugged her. Maybe she was part of some elaborate revenge plot of an ex-con, who wanted to go to great lengths to see her suffer.

Maybe it was all a big dream. Perhaps, in a few minutes, she would wake up, and be safe and sound at the precinct.

Or maybe, this was all real.

Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking Olivia out of her thoughts. She looked over at the older gentleman, and the younger gentleman, two unfamiliar faces staring at her.

She couldn't handle this right now.

"I'll, be right back," Olivia shot out of her seat, trying to appear calm. She stood there for an awkward second, as she looked around the room. Trying to find the best escape route. Her eyes landed on a hallway, and in a beat, she was gone.

After a few minutes of stumbling around the large house, she finally managed to find herself a bathroom. She took a few deep breaths, and splashed some water on her face. If she was dreaming, that would bring her out of it, she figured.

She felt the cold water hit her skin, and shivered. She opened her eyes. She was still here.

Nothing changed.

"Oh my god," she mumbled to herself, before she looked up in the mirror.

 **Olivia's Reflection  
** Her skin was lighter.  
Her hair was darker.  
She looked younger.

Olivia stared at herself for a good minute. What she was looking at, that was 100%, definitely not her face...but it was her face. Her head started to hurt. Her eyes analyzed her reflection, and as they did, she realized one thing: this was real.

She sat down on the toilet seat. She needed to figure out what was going on. This all started when she entered that fortune teller's tent, and was asked to make a wish. She wished that her mother had never been raped. She said she'd give up everything to make that happen.

Maybe, just maybe, this was the universe her wish came true. The reason her mother seemed so happy, was that she'd never experienced that trauma. She never became an alcoholic. Those two men out there, maybe those were her family.

The reason Olivia looked different, was that she was never born out of rape. She had a real father. A loving father.

Olivia took a deep breath. She felt her hand start to shake. If that was the case, that was...wonderful.

But there was a problem. Olivia had no memories of this life. Those men out there, if they were her family, she had no idea who they were. She only had the memories of the other life.

How was she supposed to navigate this new world.

Olivia looked down to her clothes. She was still a detective, after all. Maybe she had a clue on her person.

She reached to where she normally kept her detectives badge. To her delight, she felt it, but it felt...different. She pulled it out.

Olivia Brighton, Homicide Detective.

Brighton. That must be the name of the man her mother married. And on top of that, she was no longer in the Special Victims Unit.

It was a little bit of a blow. Even though her job was hard, she dedicated her life to it. She had worked tirelessly at the Special Victim's Unit, for over a decade. In a way, it was all she knew. She didn't know how she was going to handle going into work, with different co-workers, and a different bureau.

She shook her head. Her mother was never raped. She could handle this. It was a small price to pay for a miracle.

She wondered if she did know any of the same people? Maybe...her phone! She could check her phone.

She reached in the pocket she normally keeps her phone, and sure enough, it was there. A different make and model. This phone was fancier than any phone she'd never had.

She opened the phone, and was faced with a password...shoot. Alright, well, maybe she knew it? If she kept her phone in the same pocket as she normally did, maybe she kept the same password?

She tried it...and sure enough, she was in. She scrolled to her contacts, and started reading through the names.

There were many names she'd never heard in her life. But to her delight, there were some familiar contacts: John Munch, Odefin Tutuola, Nick Amaro, Melinda Warner.

But...there were a lot of names that were empty. Good friends, she realized were no longer in her life. Casey Novak, George Wong, Amanda Rollins, Rafael Barba, Elliot Stabler, Alex Cabot.

Seeing those empty names...those were some of her greatest allies. At least, they had been in her old life.

She shook it off. No, it was better this way. Even if it didn't seem like it now, it was.

She took a deep breath. She realized she probably had to come out of the bathroom, eventually. She had to face this new universe, whether she liked it or not.

She walked out the door. How hard could this be?

* * *

Olivia took her seat back at the table, and put on a bright smile. She played her part as best as she could. The perfect daughter, happy to be home. And so far, the dinner had been layered with lots of useful information.

She had found out that the elder gentleman was, in fact, her biological father. The younger man who sat by her side, was her little brother. Olivia couldn't help but think of Simon - who she realized was no longer her brother. Her new brother's name was Kent.

This entire family dinner was in his honor, she would find. Kent had just graduated from Harvard Law School. In a little less than a month, he would be taking the bar exam.

"What kind of law are you going to go into?" Olivia found herself asking, "Prosecution?" She couldn't help but think that'd be kind of cool. Her, the homicide detective. Her brother, prosecuting the murderers she brought in. Team justice.

Her brother simply laughed at her, "Livy, don't be silly," he took a bite out of his dinner, "We can't all be civil slaves. Where would that leave us?"

Their father patted him on the back, "He's gonna join the family practice," their father beamed.

Great, Olivia thought. So her father own a law practice. That wasn't the best of news, but...no, she couldn't judge. Not all private attorneys were bad. Trevor Langdon had come to help their cause on more than one occasion, she remembered. Besides, maybe her father didn't represent criminals. Maybe he was a business lawyer?

"Oh, dad, you finished another case today, didn't you?" Kent asked. Their father chuckled.

"Ah, yes," he looked at her, "Olivia, I certainly hope that your colleagues in the Manhattan homicide department have their act together, more then the people at the Manhattan Special Victim's Unit."

Olivia clutched onto her fork, "Oh?" she squeaked out.

"I'll give them one thing, their ADA is a little spitfire," he chuckled, "Casey Novak...if she wasn't so attached to her morals, perhaps I'd offer her a job at my practice."

Casey was still an ADA at the Special Victims Unit. She guessed that meant that Barba worked somewhere else. Good to know. More information.

She tried to focus on that little fact, instead of the fact her father apparently represented rapists.

"What was the case, if you don't mind me asking?" Olivia asked.

"My client was accused of being a serial rapist," he said, "Five counts of sexual assault...honestly, he was guilty. Luckily for me, SVU made a clerical error on the DNA. I got it thrown out, and the case with it." He looked to Olivia, "If you ever come across a Billy Amanek...just, keep your pepper spray on you. He's a bit grabby."

The family laughed. Her brother. Her father...but what shook her more, was that her mother laughed.

Her mother laughed at a rape joke.

"If you knew he was guilty, why'd you help him walk free?" Olivia asked. Her father scoffed.

"My job isn't about deciding who is guilty, and who is not."

"Even if he is guilty."

"...Regardless, that's not up to me to prove. The burden of proof lies with the prosecution. If the detectives make a mistake, that's on them, not me."

Olivia glared. Her father caught it.

"Think of it this way, Livy," her brother butted in, "It encourages them to do better."

"And lets a rapist walk free," she growled.

There was an awkward silence at the dinner table. She managed to catch her mother's eye, and she caught a look of disappointment. Olivia felt her heart sink. So this was the family she was born into. Instead of being the daughter to a rapist, she was the daughter to a rapists' ally.

How could her mother fall in love with someone like that.

She looked over to her mother. Her alive, mother. Her mother who married into a good family. Her mother who was never traumatized. Her mother who was happy with her life.

It was better this way. She relented.

That being said, she was beyond relieved when her phone started to ring.

She quickly picked it up. It was Munch.

"Ben...Brighton.

"Ben Brighton?" Sounded Munch on the other end. He laughed.

"I stumbled my words."

"Clearly," he said. He heard him sigh, "Want an excuse to leave your family reunion?"

"Desperately," She responded.

"Good. Cause we got a body."

She put the phone down, "I'm sorry, guys, but I gotta to into work. Something came up."

Her mother sighed. Olivia looked away.

"Typical," Her dad sniped.

Nodded, and bolted out of the door, putting the phone back on her ear.

"Where do you need me, Munch?"

* * *

 _Thank you buggybot12, Olivia E. Bensler, and Guest for reviewing. I really appreciate the kind words. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter just as much!  
_  
 _I'm updating this a little bit earlier, so since I'm gonna be kinda busy in the next few days. Other than that, I'm going to try and update this story every Thursday._


	3. New Case, Old Friends

_Chapter 3: New Case, Old Friends_

* * *

There had been many times in Olivia's life where work had gotten in the way of her life. Where she'd cancel dates because of a body, or where her one day off would be interrupted by a serial rapist. It was just a hazard of the job, honestly. While she wished things could be different, she understood it came with the job.

This time was different. She was relieved to have an excuse to leave the people who were now her family. As horrible as it sounded, this homicide came at the perfect time.

On top of that, the taxi ride over to the crime scene gave her some time to prepare herself. She was about to meet up with coworkers who, chances are, she'd never met in her lifetime. She'd have to pretend they met on a daily basis.

Luckily, one of her coworkers appeared to be Munch. Even in a new world, John Munch would be a reliable ally. That helped, for sure.

She was dropped off at a bar - a high class bar, only occupied by the social elite. Upperclass men and women were being interviewed - all of them looked shaken. This was probably the most disturbing thing to happen in their privileged lives.

It occurred to her that, in this world, she was no different from them. Wealthy parents, as much as she hated to admit it, she probably didn't have to work nearly as hard as she did in her old live. She was now Olivia Brighton, who grew up with a silver spoon.

But did that change the fact she was going to work her ass off? Absolutely not. If anything, it just meant she had more to prove now.

She got out of the taxi, where she saw a familiar face - John Munch. He smiled at her.

"How was dinner?"

"Terrible," Olivia sighed, "What do we got?"

He gestured toward the crime scene, and she began to follow.

"John Doe, cause of death unknown. We suspect this isn't where the murder took place. The body was dumped."

Olivia nodded. Not the greatest start to a case, but it was something.

They arrived at the body. A white male, in his twenties. The body was in rough shape - cuts and lacerations everywhere. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he still had his pants on.

"Why is he shirtless?" Olivia found herself asking. Given her experience, her mind immediately went to the "sex crime" headspace. Date gone wrong, maybe?

"It's July, and there's no law against men being shirtless. He was probably just trying to cool down," Munch replied. Olivia shrugged. He certainly had a point there.

That's when Olivia noticed the M.E examining the corpses - Melinda Warner. Thank god, another familiar face. She smiled at Olivia, the same smile Olivia was used to.

"You look dressed up," She smiled. Olivia shrugged.

"Family dinner."

Warner winced, "Oh. That's rough."

There was something comforting about the fact that, all of her colleagues also acknowledged the terribleness of her family. That maybe, whoever she was in this life, didn't turn out that different.

Melinda pulled out a wallet, and flipped through it.

"No ID, no credit card, looks like our perp took anything that could ID him," Melinda stated, "I'll take the wallet for prints...hold on…"

She fumbled through the wallet, and pulled out a picture. Olivia winced when she saw what came out.

 **The Contents of a Dead Guy's Wallet  
** Two movie theater coupons.  
Four dollars in change.  
Child porn.

Melinda showed the detectives what was definitely a compromising picture of their perp with a child. The guy was 100% a pedophile.

Munch sighed, "Perfect. Just what he need." He started to walk off, pulling out his phone as he did so, "Let me call in SVU."

Olivia's heart skipped a beat. The Special Victim's Unit. And given the area of the city they were in, it would be _her_ Special Victim's Unit. But her excitement didn't stay too long. Chances are, SVU was going to take over this case. The only brush she would have with them would be a simple hello.

Nevertheless, it was something.

They waited about thirty minutes for Special Victim's Unit to make their way to the seen. Olivia spent the entire time wondering, was she going to know these people? If Munch was a homicide detective, did that mean none of her old co-workers were at Special Victims Unit? On top of that, even if they were, how well did she know them in this universe?

Her question was answered when a black car pulled up, and out walked Odafin Tutuola. He spotted Olivia and waved. Olivia remembered that he was one of the contacts on her phone - maybe she had a closer relationship with the Special Victim's Unit than she thought.

"Hey Liv," he greated, "Long time no see."

Olivia nodded, "How've you been?"

"Same old, same old," Fin shrugged, "What do we got?"

"A dead John Doe with kiddy-porn in his pocket," Munch answered. Fin nodded.

"Of course."

"So, how do you wanna handle this one?" Munch asked. Fin shrugged. The SVU detective glanced between Olivia, then back to Munch.

A thought occurred to Olivia. There had been times, when Olivia was with the Special Victim's Unit, where some detectives from other units would join them, due to the joint jurisdiction on the case. Olivia smiled. Maybe, just maybe, she could work with a unit she was familiar with.

"We could share it," she suggested, "the lines are pretty blurred on this one, so it wouldn't hurt to double up."

Fin smirked at her, "Really?" he asked, "People usually go out of their way to not work the SVU cases."

Olivia smiled, "If a child is being hurt, I wanna help."

Fin nodded, and looked toward Munch, "Is that cool with you?"

Munch shrugged, "I guess. Things have been kind of slow on our end."

"I'll call my captain, get it approved," Fin said.

Olivia felt her heart skip a beat. This was perfect, she thought. Now, she could get the hang of this new life, with a job she was familiar with.

"Detectives!" Melinda called out. They looked over to her, and she gestured for them to come to her. The three of them jogged over. There was grim look on the medical examiner's face, "Things might be a lot more complicated.

She raised the palm of the dead guy's hand. In the center of his inner hand, the number two was carved.

Olivia didn't know what it meant, but she had a feeling that this case just got a lot more complicated.

* * *

 _Thank you mmkbrook, Guest, and Olivia E. Bensler for reviewing, and to everyone who has followed and liked this story. I'm updating this one a day early, since I'm gonna be pretty swamped tomorrow. This story will be updated every Thursday!_

 _Stay tuned next week, where we will run into a certain former detective :)_


	4. Enemies, Once Friends

_Chapter 4: Enemies, Once Friends_

* * *

The Special Victim's precinct was almost exactly as she remembered it. Almost. Desks were not quite where they were supposed to be. There were a slightly different set of faces then she was used to. She took a deep breath, wondering if she should be pretending to see the place for the first time.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up. Munch.

"You alright? You seem off," he said. Olivia nodded.

"Yeah. Long day," she replied. And it wasn't a lie. The events had certainly took their toll on her. But all she wanted to do was work on this case - regain her sense of what was normal.

The stopped at a desk, which she recognized as Fin's. She looked up at him, a familiar face in this chaotic situation - even if her relationship with the detective was slightly different than it used to be.

"Wait here," he said, "I'm gonna go update the captain on what's going on." he explained. Olivia and Munch nodded, and he walked off.

"To think I could've worked here," Munch mused, looking at his surroundings, "I can't imagine how different things would be." He laughed, "have I ever told you that? I almost worked at the this very precinct."

Olivia nodded, "Why didn't you?" she asked.

Munch shrugged, "I didn't think I was strong enough to handle it."

"Rape cases are tough," Olivia replied, "You definitely have to grow a thick skin to handle them."

Munch laughed, "You say that like you've worked a Special Victim's Case before. Last time I checked, you avoided this unit like the plague."

That little detail hurt Olivia to learn about herself, but she shook it off. She shrugged at Munch.

"Change of heart, I guess," she replied. It was the simplest response, she figured. It was easier than explaining the real situation at hand.

"What made you wanna co-team with these guys, anyways?" Munch asked, "Other than Fin, I don't imagine they're gonna be to welcoming of you here."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Olivia questioned, "I'm a good detective."

"And you're also the devil's firstborn," Munch responded, "Your dad's made a living out of defending the most sexually deviant Manhattan has to offer."

"I'm not my dad," Olivia said, simply. There was a familiar phrase. It was a phrase she'd repeated to herself since childhood, reminding herself that she wasn't a rapist like her father. She wasn't evil like her father. She would spend her life putting away people like her father.

And it still held true. She was nothing like her new father. She would still spend her life, this new life, helping victims, not trashing their name in court. That much she knew.

Munch smirked, "Is this your form of a teenaged rebellion?"

"I'm not a teenager," Olivia shrugged.

 _"You've got to be kidding me,"_ she heard screamed from the other room, _"Absolutely not. I refuse to work with her. No way."_ It was a voice she recognized. A voice she hadn't heard in years. A temper she'd learned to love.

Elliot Stabler, her former partner.

The man in question stormed out of the room, slamming the door open. He looked around the room, before he spotted Olivia. He looked at her with a death glare, a look reserved for rapists and similarly crummy people. Olivia felt herself gasp ever so slightly.

He made a bee-line towards her and Munch, until he was merely an inch away from her. His mouth formed into a snarl. Olivia clenched her fists, and found herself standing taller.

"Listen, _Brighton,_ I don't know what kind of business you think you have here, but let me tell you. You are not welcome."

It felt weird, her former partner treating her like a criminal. She felt her heart sink, ever so slightly. They used to be so close.

But then again, in her real life, they'd also drifted apart. When he left the Special Victim's Unit, he cut everyone in the squad out of his life. And while it hurt - she'd understood. The job had become toxic to him. Toxic to him, and his family. Even his teammates reminded him only of the evil in the world - and of actions he'd never be able to undo. He'd made the decision that it was best for his mental health to put all of that behind him. March ahead, without his former team.

But this was different. In this world, Elliot was still here. Another reminder that things were very different.

"I understand why I may not be welcomed with open arms," Olivia said, standing her ground. Regardless of her memories with Elliot, she wasn't going to stand around while he insulted her character, "But I am working this case, with your squad, regardless of if I'm welcomed, so get to used to it."

He maintained eye-contact with her, for just a second, before he broke, storming away. Fin followed out of the office, and sighed. He approached the two of them.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, "Your dad gave him quite the verbal beating in court the other day."

"Of course he did," Olivia sighed, "I get it. My dad doesn't make it easy for you guys."

Fin laughed, "That's an understatement."

"What do we need to do for the case?" Olivia asked.

"If you and Munch want to wait by the morgue, see if they have anything, I'll take Elliot to talk with witnesses."

Olivia nodded. That seemed reasonable.

"I'll call you if we find anything," Munch relayed.

"Likewise," Olivia replied. She looked to Munch, and silently, they made their exit. It was time to wait with a corpse.

But as they left, she briefly passed Elliot, once again. He glared before looking away. She watched as Fin approached him. She watched the detective pace around, a pace she was familiar with. It was his frustrated walked. She knew he was gonna need a while to cool down.

She took the time to observe him, ever so slightly. He seemed a bit more chubby than she remembered. He was still muscular, but there was a little fat to his features. She noticed he didn't have a wedding ring, either. His hands were bare.

She remembered, there was a point where him and Kathy were thinking about getting a divorce, but ultimately they sorted out their problems. Maybe in this universe, they didn't?

Or maybe, in this universe, there was never a Kathy to begin with.

As they walked, Olivia's phone wrang. She picked it up. The contact simply read "Dad."

She sighed. Of course.

"I have to take this," she sighed. Munch nodded.

"Go ahead."

Olivia lifted the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Olivia," came her father's voice, "Where have you been? It's been hours!"

The brunette groaned. He was talking to her like a naughty teenager, "I'm on a case, dad. It's kind of important."

"More important than family?" he scoffed, "This weekend is supposed to be a celebration for your brother. Don't let your job ruin it for us."

Olivia clenched the phone tighter. She didn't give a rats ass about her brother, honestly. She'd barely met the kid, and if he was anything like her so called father, she didn't want to.

"Someone is dead," she responded, "I can't just leave an active investigation."

"What has gotten into you lately?" He dad asked, "You have been so defiant lately. This isn't like you."

"Sorry to disappoint you," she said, "Look, I gotta go."

And as he started to protest, she hung up. She looked up to Munch, who was smiling the biggest grin imaginable.

"What?" she asked. Munch just laughed.

"I love watching this new you," Munch responded.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You don't take shit from people anymore. It's awesome."

Olivia smiled, and looked down. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Glad it's a pleasant change," she replied.

It was then that Fin started to approach them, catching them before they left.

"Hey. I hate to separate the dream team, but Elliot is being difficult. He wants someone from our unit on all aspects of the investigation. New plan. I'll go with Olivia to the morgue, and Munch, you can go with Elliot to canvas the area."

"I could go with Elliot," Olivia found herself saying. Fin looked at her.

"No offense, but I don't think that's a good idea," he said. Olivia shrugged.

"He's gonna have to get used to working with me." she said, "might as well be now."

"I mean, if you're fine with it," Fin shrugged. Olivia nodded, and turned to face Elliot in the room. She smiled, as she slowly approached him.

This would be interesting.

* * *

 _Thank you to Olivia E. Bensler, and Jbcjazz for reviewing! Sorry it was a bit late this time, guys. Five 14 hours work days in a row kinda kicked my but this week, but here it is. Thank you so much for your support!_

 _The question of pairings was brought up, and I will be honest. I don't know what pairing I'm gonna put in here. So we'll see.  
_  
 _See you on Thursday!_


End file.
